England's leading football clubs should foot the £180,000-a-year bill to accommodate six Football Licensing Authority staff in swish premises in London's West End - not taxpayers, a Norfolk MP said last night .

England's leading football clubs should foot the £180,000-a-year bill to accommodate six Football Licensing Authority staff in swish premises in London's West End - not taxpayers, a Norfolk MP said last night.

The licensing authority charges England's 94 football clubs £100 for a safety certificate, irrespective of a club's size or status.

But the cost of running the authority is met by the taxpayer - and the bill stands at £30,000 for each of the authority's employees each year.

South Norfolk MP Richard Bacon, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, said: "Big football clubs have plenty of money.

"It is not obvious why taxpayers should have to pay £30,000 per person to keep the staff of the Football Licensing Authority at a top London address.

"Taxpayers should not be paying through the nose for posh office space for the Football Licensing Authority, while multi-million pound football clubs are rolling in money and being charged a pittance for vital safety certificates."

Mr Bacon spoke ahead of publication of the Commons committee's report on the authority.

The report found that the six staff were accommodated in generous office space at Cavendish Square, London.